BirdLife Trogons Bird Club is a non-profit organisation (NPO-040-174), affiliated to BirdLife South Africa. Based on the South Coast of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, our catchment area is between Scottburgh and Port Edward. Members are welcome from any part of the world. For more information see the 'About Us' or 'Contact Us' pages.

On arriving atAlbert
Falls on Sunday the wind was already blowing a gale
and this set the mood for most of the week. The dam was only 45% full and
decreasing daily so rain was really needed there, as with the rest of the
country. We were greeted by hundreds, if not thousands, ofBarn
Swallowsswooping about,with
Greater and Lesser-striped Swallows and Brown-throated Martinsjoining in the fun. Yellow-billed
Kitesseem to love spending their summer next to the Albert Falls
Dam where they “hang out” in flocks of up to 20. Hardy folk as we thought we
were, we erected our chairs in the wind under the lapa for lunch but soon
dispersed to unpack in the warmth of our lovely rondavels. By late
afternoon the rain had set in properly so no birding was possible and supper
was eaten in our rooms.

Yellow-billed Kites (Hazel van Rooyen)

Yellow-billed Kite (Hazel van Rooyen)

This trip was definitely
dominated by the monotonous calls of theBlack and Red-chested Cuckoos -
they were everywhere, especially outside our bedrooms at 04.30 in the
mornings! Having said that, they were not easy to spot and I would not
like to be one of their chosen brood hosts.

Black Cuckoo (Hazel van Rooyen)

Monday morning we made a
06:30 start to get toBisley Valley early but were thwarted by the
rush-hour traffic getting through Pietermaritzburg which we retirees had
forgotten all about. Once there we found the gate padlocked and it wasn’t
possible to drive in to picnic, but there was a turnstile which we used
(guarded by a Rhombic Night Adder which Hazel Nevin surprised).

Rhombic Night Adder (Hazel Nevin)

Scimitarbill (Stan Culley)

We meandered our way
through the bone-dry bushveld where Stan spotted a Scimitarbill. Down at
the bird-hide by the pond a veritable Cathedral ofBishops were
swizzling away. Some other birds at this hide wereCommon
Moorhen, Thick-billed Weaver, Collared and White-bellied Sunbirds, Little
Grebe, Black Crake, White-faced Duck and Giant Kingfisher. In the surrounding scrub wereBlack-backed
Puffback, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Neddicky, Rufous-naped Lark and
a flash ofOrange-breasted Waxbills entertained
us on the path back to the cars for coffee.

In the afternoon some of
us went down to the campsite to look for waders at the water’s edge. A
pair ofCrowned Cranes and some Woolly-necked Storks foraged
a short way off, otherwise all was quiet. Also seen earlier in the day
wereAmethyst
Sunbird, Long-billed Crombec, African Hoopoe, Black Cuckoo and African Fish
Eagle. The guys battled to keep the braai-fire
alight in the evening because of the wind but still managed to produce an
excellent meal. As you can see from Sandy's photographs, it was quite chilly.

Long-crested Eagle (Hazel van Rooyen)

Wattled Cranes (Doug Butcher)

On Tuesday a few of us
again set off early forKarkloof Conservancy, spotting aLong-crested Eagle on our way. The first dam
provided good birding with, amongst others,White-throated Swallow, Blacksmith Lapwing, Grey Heron,
Wattled Lapwing, South African Shelduck, Fan-tailed Widowbird, 3-banded Plover,
African Spoonbill and some late-comers were lucky enough to seeWattled
Cranes fly in. The second hide was devoid of
birds, the dam being totally dry and covered in reeds. The only activity
was a family of Reedbuck and the ubiquitous Pin-tailed Whydah. Pausing at
various places in the generalKarkloof area yieldedCape
Robin-Chat, Western Osprey, Bald Ibis, Crowned Crane and Buff-streaked Chat.

Kurrichane Thrush (Hazel van Rooyen)

White-browed Scrub Robin (Hazel van Rooyen)

Back at Albert Falls we
addedWhite-bellied
Sunbird, Kurrichane Thrush, White-browed Scrub Robin and Black-collared Barbet to
our base list. Afternoon thunderstorms turned into a balmy summer evening
at last and everyone emerged from their rondavels, sniffing the air like
meerkats after a storm. A delicious braai was being enjoyed when
suddenly what can only be described as a violent squall hit us, turning
tablecloths into sails while we held on to our wine glasses and plates.
OAPs scattered and shot back into their bolt-holes and didn’t emerge again till
the following morning.

Relaxing for once at the boma (Doug Butcher)

Where did this come from! (Doug Butcher)

Cumberland Nature Reserveon the Umgeni River in the Table Mountain area was our venue for
Wednesday and our party of eight made tracks in that direction, to be joined a
bit later by several more. This proved everyone’s favourite of the trip.
The bird count of 87 was double that of some other venues. Several lovely
walks were well mapped, information was available at the “honesty” entry hut,
the picnic sites were well-kept and the owner even came to greet us and put
together a large picnic table for us.

Picnic beneath the Paperbark trees (Hazel van Rooyen

More picnic (Doug Butcher)

Later we were shown around
the accommodation. The picnic spot was shaded by paperbark trees and
skirted by thick indigenous forest and a few of the birds we saw here wereBurchell’s
Coucal, Kurrichane Thrush, Black Cuckoo, Green-backed
Cameroptera. Moving
further in, we parked at the camp ground and took the walk marked The Kranz
which led along the top of the gorge . This was a bit rocky in places some
stones still holding water from the previous night’s thunderstorm which had
also brought out the flying ants. On sighting anAfrican
Hoopoe resting on the branch of a tree instead of
busily digging for grubs, Sandy commented that it was still licking its lips
from the bounty of flying ants.

Caught having a rest - actually watching a Fish Eagle on its nest (Hazel van Rooyen)

Peregrine Falcon (Stan Culley)

Peregrine Falcon (Hazel van Rooyen)

This was such a beautiful walk
and proved marvelous for birds, some of the most exciting beingAfrican Harrier Hawk, Peregrine
and Lanner Falcons, African Fish Eagle (on nest), Trumpeter Hornbill,
Violet-backed Starling, Cape Rock Thrush, Wahlberg’s Eagle,Red-throated Wryneck,
Golden-breasted Bunting,Southern
Black Flycatcher, Neddickyand
what has to be our club favourite, -theNarina
Trogonwhich eluded many of
us until it alighted on the side of the gorge in all it’s amazing glory.
We all cheered when Angie finally got her Trogon. Back at the picnic site
for lunch, the birds soon regained our attention and the forest yieldedWillow Warbler, Cape Batis, African
Dusky Flycatcher, Cape White-eye,. With the current drought
conditions in our country, Cumberland Nature Reserve was a very soothing
lush green and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Violet-backed Starling (Hazel van Rooyen)

Whilst most of us were at
Cumberland, Barry and family went toMidmar
Dam. The North side was rather barren but the South side (entered by
a different gate) producedCape
Crow, Cape Longclaw, Amethyst Sunbird, Red-throated Wryneck, Cape Robin-Chat,
Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Wattled Lapwing, Black-winged Lapwing, Black-shouldered
Kite, Rock Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon andCape
Grassbird.

Once
again the weather was too unpleasant for a communal braai and we made supper in
our rooms.

Our last
day dawned a bit overcast and once again we split up, some returning to
Cumberland Nature Reserve, but our group were keen to try another new
place. We set off via the sand road toUmgeni
Valley Nature Reserve at Howickbut
Val didn’t trust the road condition and decided to go the longer route while we
carried on. The recent rain and forestry vehicles had churned it up
a bit but we carried on. We felt sorry for all the little school children
tip-toeing through the mud to get to school. Umgeni Valley was very
organized with a nice reception and a good map indicating trails of 2 to 5
hours. WESSA (Wildlife & Environment Society of SA) have
offices there and do a lot of conservation and environmental education work.
One thing to note was that high clearance vehicles are essential,
otherwise they won’t let you in. Proceeding into the reserve we
soon found a picnic spot with pine trees and had our usual morning
coffee. A raucous screeching brought all eyes upwards and aLanner Falconflew into a pine tree – and
another, and another. How exciting! All together five, two adults
and three juveniles. We couldn’t see a nest but this seemed to be a
regular spot for them as later in the day we saw them perform a food exchange
in the air – very thrilling.

A bit further along there
were lovely views of Howick Falls which were flowing nicely after the recent
storms and at the end of the road an amazing view of the beautiful valley with
Midmar Dam in the distance. SomeRed-wing Starlings were having lots of fun bathing in a
rock pool and a fatty dassie basked on the warm rock. A Soldier Commodore
butterfly attracted attention too. Stanley went to have a closer look and
almost got mobbed byWhite-necked Ravens which must have been nesting on the
cliffs below.

On the way there we saw aJackal
Buzzard sitting on a fence and quite a few small birds
in the grassland:Levaillant’s, Zitting and Wailing Cisticolas, Bronze
Mannikin, Yellow-throated and Cape Longclaw, African Stonechat, Cape Rock
Thrush, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Neddicky, Rock Martin, Cape Grassbird and
Tawny-flanked Prinia.
Many little pathways led off to interesting-looking trails but most looked too
steep for us youngsters, although we did venture a short way down. There
was quite a bit of other wild-life too, including zebra, blesbok with calf, and
a mommy warthog with four little ones.

Cape Longclaw (Hazel van Rooyen)

Blesbox with calf (Hazel van Rooyen)

Warthog with piglets

Zitting Cisticola

Back at Albert Falls Angie and
Doug went down to Pelican Bay and were lucky enough to see our beautiful National bird, a pair ofBlue
Cranes.We
finished our last day off with a braai, this time the weather held and we were able
to relax in the boma and chat for a while.So
another fun and informative outing had come to an end and fond farewells were
said as everyone went on their way. We had enjoyed the venue, having
waders, raptors and scrub-birds to be seen without even venturing out of the
reserve. For people with more general interests – giraffe, zebra, nyala,
steenbok, warthog etc were abundant too.